The Calamity of Youkai Mountain
by Jake The Mildly Insane
Summary: Shortly after restoring peace in Gensokyo, Jacob Kenneth realizes that he doesn't have much time for a break. The Youkai Mountain shows signs of activity, leaving Jacob and his new friends in a hurry to try to protect the other residents of Gensokyo.
1. An Explosive Prelude

Before reading,

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction featuring characters and locations from the Touhou Project series. Neither this work, nor myself are affiliated with Team Shanghai Alice, the creator of the Touhou Project series. As such, I have no ownership of the Touhou Project series, and credit for its content goes to Team Shanghai Alice, not myself.

Another thing, this story takes place after the events of _Beyond The Hakurei_ _Barrier._ Some events from said work may be alluded to, therefore, it may be a good idea to read it before this story.

A few improvements I intend:

- I will upload this story as I write it. I had written the majority of _Beyond The Hakurei Barrier_ before I initially began to upload it, therefore, reviews and suggestions were harder to accommodate. That is why I will instead upload each chapter upon its completion. This way, if I can tailor the story to meet suggestions without having to go back and potentially create paradoxes by accident. Basically, this way I can change the story moving forward, where if I modified a part of a pre-written story, I could end up damaging the foundation of later events and such.

- This story will not have the unnecessarily confusing chapter labels I accidentally cursed _Beyond The Hakurei Barrier _with. Upon looking back at it, even I was confused. Taking that as a bad sign, I fixed the titles, and now I'm going to not include chapter numbers in labels, as it is pointless, and will only label the chapters with their individual titles. Also relating to chapters, as well as the ability to make this story more flexible by uploading it as I complete it, it will hopefully result in a relatively even chapter distribution. In other words, I hopefully won't leave you with some (approximately) nine thousand word long chapters, and other chapters that barely reach over one hundred words. Again, due to having written most of _Beyond The Hakurei Barrier_ before I began uploading it, the chapters weren't even existent, and when I divided it, it came out to be terribly uneven.

- Hopefully overall, this story is as enjoyable as I can make it. It may take time to finish, (Curse you, life obligations!) but hopefully that will motivate me to make the most out of it.

Also, if you were to find an error in my writing, I am not offended if you send me a PM about it, in fact, I very much would appreciate it. While I consider my writing skills to be adequate, sometimes, I either forget details, or make other mistakes that can compromise the quality of the work, and therefore the enjoyment that can be derived from reading it. It is very helpful to know where mistakes are made, so I can go through and fix them. Well, that's everything. Thank you for reading this note, now, here is the story.

* * *

><p>I woke up, stretching my limbs as usual, accompanied with a rather loud yawn. I looked to my right, and saw Kaguya once again. She also was just starting to wake up.<p>

"Good morning Kaguya." I was luckily able to speak without awkwardly grumbling from drowsiness.

"Good morning Jacob. You slept well I take it?" she responded in a sleepy tone.

"As well as normal. I had a weird dream though."

"What was it about?"

"I know it doesn't mean anything, but I was in the outside world again, and the sky turned red like it did before I fought the monster I created. Do you think that people in the outside world were able to see the sky become red when it happened?"

"I don't know. Seeing how impressive of an event that was, I wouldn't be surprised if at least part of the outside world saw it."

"Maybe that was a bit of an eye-opener to my parents, if they were able to see it. Maybe they connected that to my letter stating I was going to be doing important things."

"I would imagine they could figure out that something was happening."

"The sky doesn't often get red like that so you can't even see the Sun or Moon. In fact, I don't believe there's records of anything like that in the outside world."

"Well. As I've said, magic can be amazing, even in terrifying ways."

"I wouldn't argue with that statement any time soon. I've even startled myself with some of my abilities."

"You startled me a few times as well. It may have been that I was underestimating you, but now I know you're capable of impressive things."

"Yeah. I guess I am." I shrugged subtly, with a silly grin on my face.

"Oh, don't say it like that, you know you are." she insisted, trying to keep a straight face.

"Okay, okay. I know I'm capable of impressive things." I kept the grin on for a bit longer.

"That's better."

The two of us got to our feet. I stretched my arms a second time, yawning again. "So, would you like some tea?" Kaguya asked in the wake of my yawn.

"Oh, sure, if you wouldn't mind." I then shook my head to get the sleepiness out. I followed Kaguya to the kitchen. She got ready to start a fire in the stove to boil water for the tea.

"Could you go get some water for me?"

"Of course."

I took the bucket that was on the stove, and went outside to the well. Standing amidst the fresh air, I breathed deeply. I was calmed by the beautiful placidity of nature. Winter had almost arrived, and the temperature was enough evidence of that fact. I remembered the rice garden that Kaguya maintained, with a little help from me. The nightly cold had eradicated the last few plants clinging to life. The bamboo forest itself was even beginning to show signs of ill health. Regardless, it was still good to not find myself living in some noisy city, especially because I didn't react well when near large amounts of people. I had always imagined myself living in a rural area, well away from any major cities, and able to enjoy relative peace and quiet. Living at Eientei was even better. For that matter, the entirety of Gensokyo seemed to be the ideal place for me, not being too crowded, but not leaving me as the only person within a square kilometer. I fetched some water from the well, and went back inside, and gave the bucket to Kaguya.

"Thank you Jacob." she said as she took the bucket.

"You're welcome. Oh, and Kaguya, don't worry about tea for me, okay? I think I might go for some sightseeing in the area." I responded.

"Oh, alright then. Come back soon." she requested as I left the room.

I went back outside, and flew high above Eientei, and above the bamboo forest. I flew in a roughly northerly direction, towards the huge mountain that looked to be the highest point in Gensokyo. I was near the Human Village when I heard something. It was a distant rumbling sound. It sounded almost like thunder, but the skies were clear. I flew towards the sound. It didn't immediately stop, and lasted for several seconds. I was close to the lake surrounding the Scarlet Devil Mansion and I saw no problems. Then, suddenly, the rumbling returned, and was followed by a sudden and impressive blast. A storm of ash had erupted from the side of the mountain. Volcanic rock and ash bombarded the Scarlet Devil Mansion like cannonade. I hurried across the lake, and landed near the entrance of the mansion. When I was a few meters from the door, a volcanic bomb hit the mansion on the opposite side, tore through all in its path with no resistance, and demolished the door, nearly hitting me. As daunting as it was to stay in the line of fire, I knew that I had friends in the building who had to deal with the same odds of getting pulverized, and I wasn't going to let them be killed. I ran in the door, and quickly surveyed the immediate area for any residents.

"Hello? I anyone in here?" I shouted as the noise from the eruption stopped. "Someone answer me!"

I ran upstairs and sprinted through room after room. I then ran to the library, figuring that Patchouli would probably have been in that area when the eruption started. I went back down the stairs and headed towards the library. Patchouli must have used some kind of spell, because when I entered the library, the books were all neatly stacked in the corners of the library, and not on the shelves which had taken severe damage. Unfortunately there were holes in the wall facing the mountain. Ash poured through the holes in the wall and filled the air, what little of the air could be breathed smelled of sulfur. Patchouli's asthma had left her on the floor, barely conscious. I ran over to her and lifted her up. I brought her out through the front door, and set her outside. She was starting to recover, and Meiling watched over her as I ran back into the mansion. Then there was another sudden blast. The mansion was pelted a second time. Once I approached the stairwell to continue my search from there, the roof above me collapsed, and I was left unconscious.

* * *

><p>I awoke to the sound of boards being moved. The boards that were being transported came from the considerable pile of rubble that formed atop me. Luckily the pile consisted of mostly wood and other lightweight materials. I climbed out of the pile and coughed out what seemed to be a cloud of pure volcanic ash. Reimu, who had just picked up a board, jumped at my sudden appearance.<p>

"Jacob, don't scare me like that!" she scolded me as I continued to cough.

"Reimu, where is everyone? They all survived?"

"I don't know. I only found Patchouli and Meiling, the pile you just climbed out of was in the way. Most of the mansion seems to be intact, luckily"

"Okay, let me help out." I grabbed several boards, and threw them out of the way. I crawled over the pile, and into the mansion.

"Do you have any idea what happened here? I'm guessing that you just woke up."

"I remember, as far as I know. Even if my memory had been lost, it's easy to tell that there was a minor volcanic eruption, and the mansion was in the threatened area. I'm guessing it didn't last long, as the pile I climbed out of seems to be from some of the worst damage I can see so far. Hopefully everyone is just somewhere in the mansion. I prefer that they just have been trapped as opposed to killed, just in case that needed to be said."

"I'm sure they're alright. The residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion aren't known for being quick to fall."

"Perhaps, but I doubt anyone was expecting something like this. I would be amazed if they weren't completely caught by surprise."

"So would I." Reimu agreed as she climbed over the pile of rubble.

After a while of searching, we found another heap of rubble where a section from the upper floor of the mansion had collapsed. It only took me a moment to notice an arm exposed in the pile. Reimu and I started to remove some of the wreckage from the pile. Luckily, the arm was still attached to its owner, who was Sakuya. She was unconscious, so Reimu and I moved her to the side once we finished uncovering her, then we continued to move the rubble out of the pile. It wasn't long until we found the others, buried in the same massive pile, as well as a some fairies that were wearing maid attire. I was confused, as Sakuya once told me that there were more quarters for the maids than were necessary. I didn't know about the fairy maids, and I was rather shocked, as we had found half a dozen of them. Reimu and I continued to search for any more, and we found over two dozen in total. Sakuya Remilia and Flandre were starting to awaken, as well as Patchouli's assistant, the latter of which I was not entirely familiar with. They all started to stand up as Reimu and I pulled an unconscious fairy out of the last unchecked pile.

"Maybe we should run a head count, I don't know if there are any more fairies we need to be looking for." I suggested.

"I don't know either. I've only been here a few times." Reimu explained.

"I didn't even know there were fairy maids, and I lived here for a while. Now I feel a bit dumb. Oh, and to anyone who knows, is Utsuho still living here, or has she moved back out. Answer when you're able."

"She went out exploring or something a few days ago." Sakuya mumbled, holding her head. "I'll check to see if you found everyone. Thanks for getting us out of that mess."

"You're welcome. Oh, and Reimu, I should probably head back to Eientei for now, you may want to come over once you find out if we got everyone out of the wreckage. We need to talk about the status of the mountain responsible for this."

"Oh, okay. I'll be there as soon as possible." Reimu agreed.

I flew back towards Eientei. I wanted to tell Kaguya what happened, and I wanted to warn her that the mountain was actually a threat. I descended as Eientei came into my view. I landed and went inside. I guessed that Kaguya was no longer in the kitchen, as a long time had passed since the morning.

"Kaguya? I'm back. Sorry for the delay, something unpleasant happened." I was confused when I didn't immediately get a response. "Kaguya?"

"She went out into the bamboo forest." Eirin called back from another room.

"Okay, thanks. I'll tell you this too, the mountain that has the Moriya Shrine on it had a minor eruption, for some reason out of its side. If what my theory is right, we could be dealing with an eruption of catastrophic proportions within mere days!"

"You should get Kaguya, she needs to know this too."

"That's the plan. Also, Reimu is probably going to stop by soon. If I'm not here when she arrives, please ask her to wait for me."

"I'll do that."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

I turned and went back outside, and into the bamboo forest. After a while of wandering, it occurred to me that I probably wasn't going to simply end up in the same place as Kaguya.

"Kaguya? I'm back! Where are you?" I didn't receive a response. I called out a little louder. "Kaguya? Are you there?" I called out, hoping that she was relatively close by.

"Jacob?" she responded, to my relief.

"Yes, it's me. Where are you?"

"Well, I can't really say. Keep talking, I'll go towards your voice."

"Okay. There's something I needed to mention, the reason I was gone for such a long time. Particularly, it's about the mountain that the Moriya Shrine is on the side of. The mountain is volcanic, and is showing signs of activity. Given its size, it could produce a catastrophic eruption. It had a minor eruption out of its side, and it damaged the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I don't think anyone was hurt, but it easily could have killed someone. A massive eruption could be devastating to a massive area surrounding the volcano. I think that just about everywhere I've been in Gensokyo would be at risk if it were a large eruption." Kaguya came into my view as she approached. "Oh. There you are."

"Should we go back to Eientei? This sounds important."

"Yes actually. I summoned Reimu to discuss the issue, she may be here soon."

"Alright." The two of us turned back, and went inside to wait for Reimu's arrival.

"So. I know a thing or two about a stratovolcano. It's a triple threat kind of thing. Threat one is the explosive force of the eruption. Threat two is the debris launched skyward, which can be as fine as dust, or the size of a small house. Lastly there's watered down ash that can literally flood villages, that would be in reference to snowcapped mountains, which I don't believe this one is, at least not to that extent. Regardless, if this is an eruption of extreme magnitude, then I can only think of a few plans to protect Gensokyo."

"Can't you just obstruct the eruption from the peak?"

"Not in this case, no."

"Weren't you able to do that for the nuclear furnace's detonation when you destroyed it?"

"That was different. The explosion was an outburst of energy, which dissipated. Not to mention that pressure was vented outward through the shield I blocked it with. The reason this won't work is that there are likely metric tons of pressurized gas in that mountain. I'll see if I can arrange a demonstration. Eirin?" Eirin came into the room, hearing me.

"Yes Jacob?" she responded.

"Do you have any chemicals that react in a way that emits gas? Also any vials you wouldn't mind shattering?"

"Well, a few. I'll be right back." Then she left the room, and returned with three vials. Two were partially filled with two chemicals, and the third was empty. She handed them to me.

"Thank you. Now Kaguya, if you don't mind me making a mess, I'll demonstrate."

I took the cork off of the empty vial, and put a third of each of the chemicals in it, and quickly put the cork back on. Pressure built up, and the cork was dislodged by the gas.

"That's about what will happen in a volcanic eruption like the one we're going to have to deal with. Now I'll show you what will happen if I were to try to obstruct it."

I uncorked the vial again, and put the rest of the chemicals in it. I put the cork back in, and held it in place with my thumb. The vial burst shortly afterward. The reaction was too weak to send glass flying in a harmful way, the most each fragment went was a few centimeters.

"See the problem? If I try to block that eruption, the whole mountain could explode." I explained.

"That definitely won't work then. Do you have a plan?"

"Well, one, but it's going to be rather inconvenient. In this kind of situation in the outside world, the solution is evacuation, people would leave their homes, and get out of harm's way. Unfortunately for us, we don't have anywhere to evacuate to, we can't just pull everyone out of Gensokyo. What I'm thinking, is that we can move everyone that is in the path of the eruption into a single area, concentrating the population. There, we can generate a single magical shield around that area, protecting everyone inside. The problem with that plan is the fact that any unguarded areas are vulnerable to destruction by the eruption. There will likely need to be extensive reconstruction, but the loss of material possession is far outweighed by the avoidance of the loss of life that would otherwise be suffered."

"I would agree. What area did you have in mind?"

"I can't think of one off the top of my head, but probably some place that isn't too close to the eruption. I'm sorry to say it, but it probably won't be Eientei."

"Don't be sorry, you're looking after the best interests of others again, that's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know, that's not the issue. It's just that I need to remember that I need to look after your best interests first."

"Jacob, you don't have to all the time. Not that I don't appreciate your care for me."

"I don't take it as that, I know you appreciate the way I am. I just want to make sure that I still am the person that you appreciate for that. I'm not going to let myself change for the worse ever again."

"I'm not worried about that, I know you won't. You don't need to worry, I trust you. Don't you trust yourself?"

"I do, it's just that I don't want to disappoint you."

"Jacob, knowing the way you are, you will never disappoint me."

"Thanks, I just wanted to hear that I guess. Anyway, back on the topic of the eruption, I'm not sure of what magnitude this eruption will be, but it will definitely be an event worth taking preparations for. I know enough about these types of volcanoes to know that they can destroy entire cities. Well, now, I think we should talk about something else."

"Hm? Such as?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you had any plans for our future."

"What kind of plans do you mean?" That moment, we heard the sound of someone knocking on the wooden frame of the sliding front door.

"Any plans for that matter. We'll continue our discussion later, okay?"

"Of course."

"I'll go greet Reimu now." I walked to the door and slid it open. Reimu was waiting. "Good afternoon. Did we get everyone out of that mess alright?"

"Yes, luckily." Reimu assured me.

"Good to hear. Would you like to come inside?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all. Right this way." I led her into the room,where I was talking to Kaguya in. All of us sat down around the table. "Alright, let's start this. As you both know, the mountain on which the Moriya Shrine was built is volcanic."

"It's called Youkai Mountain, just so you don't have to waste your breath with that long explanation."

"Oh, okay. So, the Youkai Mountain is volcanic evidently, and that is a problem, wouldn't you agree?" The two nodded in agreement. "So, what we need to do now is try to figure out how to safely deal with the impending eruption. I have a plan, but it is not by any means ideal."

"You stopped the nuclear furnace from exploding out through the surface, can you not stop an eruption the same way?"

"No, if I do, then the eruption won't be just from the peak, the whole mountain could explode. The idea I had was to move everyone to a designated location, and generate a shield to protect that area. It's not a perfect solution, but it might be our only solution."

"That sounds like it could work. Do we have any other options that could let us forego the eruption completely?"

"I know of no such solution. We can try to come up with one, but I don't know if that is possible at the moment. All I know is that we need to start thinking about warning the people in the general area of the mountain. For all we know, the eruption could happen within days. Just as well, it could be in weeks, or even months if we're lucky enough. Regardless, it is likely to be soon. Do you have any suggestions on what should be done Reimu?"

"I can't say I have a lot of experience with this sort of situation. At least for now, your solution seems pretty reasonable."

"Thank you. Now I must ask, do you have any suggestions as to how we gather the population, or where they should congregate?"

"I think that they may want to go to the Human Village. The reason is that a lot of the population of Gensokyo is focused there. It is relatively close to the mountain, but it still is a good idea I think."

"I would agree, the plan needs to appeal to the majority of the population. We need to minimize damage, so it seems like protecting the village is something we should look into. Are there any other areas densely populated?"

"Well, you're not going to like this."

"Why not?"

"The other major concentrations are on the mountain, as far up as the peak."

"Crud. Well, are they attached to the mountain? I imagine it's going to be hard to convince a society to perform a mass exodus on a whim. Not to mention, they may or may not feel at threat to begin with. They might think I'm some kind of rambling moron."

"I'll probably have to help you with that part. I'm of a pretty high social standpoint, I might be able to convince them, but we're going to need proof of the issue."

"I'm not a geologist, but I think that with any luck, that minor eruption that happened today might just be the evidence necessary."

"I would hope so too. I've never seen Youkai Mountain being active before."

"I've not even seen it very much before, I've only been here for around a month now. Thinking about it, I've had a pretty active time here. Already, just after dealing with one problem, another springs up in its stead. Typical, knowing my luck. At least time it's not like the world will end entirely if I fail, but if I do fail, the world will end for everyone I cannot save. I don't want to fail; I was successful in my last endeavor. No lives were lost last time; no lives should be lost this time."

"I'd like to keep that trend going as well." Kaguya stated.

"The last thing I want to do is let people die, and disappoint you. I will not fail. I've survived a lot, and come so far. I know that together, we can watch an eruption of cataclysmic proportions occur without a single person suffering injury. That is something that even us humans with advanced technology in the outside world have not ever accomplished."

"Really? Why has it not?"

"Because, the world is very large, and people often don't know about the threat until it's too late. Now we know it's coming, and as my people say, 'Knowing is half the battle.' " A grin showed on my face as I realized the timely advantage we had received from the premature eruption. "So now I must ask, what kind of society is it that lives atop the mountain? Humans, youkai? What kind of social system, that kind of whatnot."

"Well, it's hard to explain, because nobody knows a whole lot about them. The mountain is inhabited by the tengu, and the kappa. Neither of the two exactly appreciate outsiders intruding on their territory, and much less telling them to leave." Reimu explained.

"Oh. Well then. I guess I'm going to have a fun time trying to convince them that they're in immediate danger, am I not?"

"Assuming that was a sarcastic remark, yes, you'll have plenty." I shook my head with a small amount of frustration.

"Well, it wouldn't make sense to come easy. When should we start with the plan?"

"Perhaps tomorrow, it's pretty late today, and we should be at our most ready when we arrive."

"Hm, I wonder if I should get some more proper clothing. Perhaps if I didn't look exactly like I do now I could be taken seriously. Then again, people generally can't take me seriously whether I look proper or not."

"I didn't see you as being one to put much pride in their appearance." Reimu admitted with a raised eyebrow, her head tilted slightly. I scratched the back of my neck through my hair, which once again had grown to a bit longer than shoulder length.

"Well, I generally don't allocate much attention my superficial qualities, particularly my hair. I don't mind if it gets a bit messy, just as long as it's not scaring people away."

"If you want, we could cut your hair again." Kaguya offered with an eager expression. I raised my eyebrows, surprised by her apparent desire to shorten my hair.

"Is it that bad?" I asked, touching a hand to my hair, which would have done well with a thorough combing.

"No, but I thought it was kind of fun cutting your hair last time."

"I was kidding, don't worry. You can be honest; my hair is pretty messy. After this time though, I'd like to grow it out a bit longer."

"That's fine."

"Okay. Now, as for putting this plan into action, I have an idea. I'll be right back."

I left the room, went into the bedroom where Kaguya and I slept. I had left my possessions there, and took the old and partially faded map of Gensokyo out of the pocket of one of my old pairs of pants. I had a quill and inkwell nearby. As well as the writing utensils, I took the formerly empty book in which I had written my plans for defeating the incarnation of my own tormented and evil side. That book had become my journal, so I had taken up writing in it as a hobby, but not before clearing it out. The plans were all basically to try to work around my immortality so that I could sacrifice myself, and in doing so, kill the evil side of me which had become manifested in a horrific being that was bent upon destroying the world. I took the four items back to the room where the meeting was taking place. I set them on the table, and began to roughly copy the map onto a blank page of the book, using somewhat excessive amounts of ink so it would bleed into the next page, and make a second copy.

"I'm going to copy down this map. We should mark on them the major population gatherings, and mark the locations we've been to, and have gotten to agree to the plan." I continued to ramble on in explanation of the plan.

"Luckily, Jacob, I can say one thing. You have gained quite a reputation after the whole incident with that monster that tried to kill me." Reimu once again spoke up.

"I guess they don't know that was my fault. What kind of reputation, may I ask?"

"The good kind of reputation, where you can have an influence on people. Even when I was asking people for directions towards the eruption, they mentioned that you had gone to check on it as well."

"Are you sure that's enough to say I can have an influence on them? Well, if so, brilliant. If I do have a good reputation, they'll probably be rather easy to get to agree to try to host everyone during the eruption."

"Perhaps, but we need to think of how we will manage so many people."

"Hm." I pondered about what to do for a brief moment. "I think I have an idea. We can set up tents around the village. We can basically increase its area if we need to, and when the eruption occurs, get everyone to the village and generate the shield as planned." There suddenly was a knocking on the door's frame again. "I'll get that." I jogged over to the door, and slid it open. To my surprise, Patchouli was there. "Hello Patchouli."

"Hello Jacob." she reciprocated the greeting. "Is it alright if I were to attend this meeting as well?"

"Of course. Right this way." I gestured for her to enter as I spoke. The two of us joined the others.

Kaguya and Reimu both said at the same time, "Hello Patchouli."

"Hello Ms. Hakurei," Patchouli responded, "and hello Ms. Houraisan, if that is what I am supposed to call you."

"I think Ms. Houraisan would be fine for now." Kaguya confirmed.

I observed, "We do still need to figure that whole surname trouble out, don't we?"

"Yes, but I suppose that can wait for now."

"Indeed. As for the plan, we're going to use this map, assuming it is at all accurate. We're going to head out to different locations to see if we can't get the people to move to the Human Village. If we can do that, then everything will be perfectly fine. Understood?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay, so, I don't think there's anything else to discuss this time. We'll meet up again, maybe tomorrow, and see what we can do about this. Sorry, Patchouli, there really isn't too much else to discuss."

"That's okay," she reassured us, "I just wanted to see if I could be any help."

"Alright. So, do we all want to meet up again tomorrow?" Once more, a nod of agreement from everyone. "There we have it. Thanks everyone for being here. Let's do our best tomorrow." With that, everyone stood up. Reimu and Patchouli bid us farewell for the time being, and left. Kaguya and I then went to sleep, as it had come to be late in the evening.


	2. A Close Call

I woke up not long before midnight due to a nightmare. It, unlike the previous nightmare, was about the mountain erupting prematurely. It didn't make sense for me to be experiencing anxiety. I was happily married, and was in a place where I was surrounded by friends. I felt very uneasy regardless of such comforts. I couldn't get rid of the thoughts of what would happen if I failed. The chance of not being able to save everyone constantly haunted me. Kaguya was quick to awaken, aware of my discomfort.

"Jacob, are you alright?" she asked, barely awake herself.

"It's okay, just another nightmare." I tried to reassure her.

"That's not good at all!"

"I'm not saying it is; I'm just saying that I'm alright. This is the second time I've had one, it's beginning to worry me a bit."

"It's worrying me too. This shouldn't happen."

"I know. Don't pay it much mind until tomorrow. If I have a third consecutive nightmare, then I know I have a problem."

"If you want, you could see Eirin about this."

"No, I need to make sure that this issue won't persist first. If it is recurrent, then I'll see Eirin. I don't want to waste time. We have to worry about the eruption first. I'll have to wait as long as it's possible."

"Jacob, it wouldn't take very long at all."

"I know, but I don't want to take that time unless I need to. I promise I will see Eirin tomorrow if I have another nightmare."

"Okay. I'll go back to sleep now."

"Alright. Sleep well." I requested, knowing I couldn't do so myself.

I lay down, wide awake until I knew she had fallen asleep. I carefully stood up, and went outside. Having the ability to manipulate life and death itself sounds like it would have made me into an omnipotent being, but instead, it allowed me to see the value of the life around me, and showed how much I relied on the life around me. From the people in Gensokyo, to each blade of grass; I was connected to every living being, perhaps not quite directly though. Thus, I found it necessary to consult with nature in a time of disturbance. Nature was my enemy, yet one of my greatest allies. A volcanic eruption threatened Gensokyo, and I only felt at peace with nature. Nature as a broad term may encompass both, but the nature I felt whole with was that to be associated with plant and animal life in the wild, instead of geological processes like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Then again, one doesn't often hear about trees destroying villages. I decided to just spend a short time outside before trying to get back to sleep. I lay down on the grass at the edge of the bamboo forest. Once I had regained my calm, I went back to the bedroom, and drifted back into sleep.

* * *

><p>"Jacob, are you awake yet?" Kaguya summoned me to awareness.<p>

"Wha? Huh? Yes, I'm getting up." I grumbled as I regained my senses.

"Reimu and Patchouli will probably arrive soon."

"Ah! I overslept, didn't I?"

"Just a little bit. Make sure you're awake when they get here, okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry." I continued to slur as I clambered to my feet. "Luckily I didn't have another nightmare, so that's one problem taken care of for now."

"That's good to hear." Kaguya replied.

I shook my head, trying to wake myself up. Kaguya began to make tea, and I went back to the room that the meeting took place in from the day before. I lay down on the floor and waited. Not very long after, there was a knocking on the door frame. I went to the door and slid it open. Patchouli and Reimu were both there, as I had expected. Unlike what I expected, they both looked mildly disturbed. It took me a moment to realize that they were looking at my hair; the word "disorder" would have been an understatement if used in an attempt to describe it.

"Did you forget to comb your hair this morning?" Reimu asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't really have a comb. I forgot to try to put it back into order though." I admitted, less embarrassed than I probably should have been.

"That seems about right."

"You know me all too well. Come on in." I stepped aside, allowing them in. We went back to our meeting room. "So, any idea how we're going to go about getting everyone off of the mountain in the first place? That is probably our highest priority at the moment. From my understanding, being on the mountain at the time of eruption means near certain death. Mountains exploding have a tendency to be rather deadly."

"That would make sense. As for avoiding the eruption altogether, is it actually a possibility? I consulted with the goddesses of the Moriya Shrine. Despite Suwako, one of the two goddesses, being a goddess of mountains, it was agreed to let the eruption go through."

"Why is that?"

"You know how Kanako and Suwako were responsible for the construction of the nuclear furnace, right?"

"Yes. They aren't upset that I destroyed it, are they?"

"No, they reasoned that Gensokyo isn't ready for such technology at the moment to begin with. Plus, they said it wouldn't be difficult to repair when the time comes to reactivate it. Referring to the eruption, Kanako, unlike what one might suspect, wants the people to advance technologically. I don't know if everyone does, but Kanako and Suwako know you're from the outside world. They think that if, even for a short time, you remain viewed as a leader, you can have the influence they want to be brought."

"So, what you mean is that they want me to this: save Gensokyo, become a hero, have people look up to me, spread my knowledge from the outside world, and pull Gensokyo ahead technologically?"

"That is what it seems."

"I understand their intentions, but with all things considered, that could be a very bad thing, especially for me."

"How so?"

"Reimu, do you know what the outside world is like?"

"Not very much, no."

"Well, let me say this, modernizing Gensokyo would be like opening Pandora's Box."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, that's right. Well, It's a myth, I think it was Greek. Well, what happened was that the box was opened, but along with hope, plights were unleashed upon the world. I don't really believe in myths, but that might be the situation we're walking into. I also could just be worrying more than necessary, but I don't know. One thing is, Gensokyo as we know it now, this oasis in a world of chaos and disorder, could be at risk of being assimilated. The lifestyle enjoyed here could disappear, not to mention the devastating effect urbanization can have on the environment. I'm not saying that technology doesn't have its own benefits, but this is something we need to more thoroughly consider. I need to show you the outside world one day. After having lived there for just about my entire current life, and having spent all of that time learning about, and familiarizing myself with the flaws of humanity. Ranging from things as simple as people calling each other mean names, to bullying, to murder, to terrorism and war. It may not even be technology, but I just do not want to risk letting Gensokyo become corrupted. I probably sound nuts saying technology can be a bad thing, but modernization overall can have problems."

"I see. For the time being though, regardless of whether or not you want Gensokyo to advance, the eruption is still a threat."

"Exactly. Let's focus on that for now." I noticed that I had left my things on the table from the day before. I pulled one of the copies of the map out of the book. I set it on the table, and took up the pen. "So, Reimu, you probably have a rather strong social influence, correct?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"Good. If what you said yesterday about my reputation was true, then we both should first set our sights on the human village." I quickly tallied a one on the location of the Human Village. "If we can get them to agree to host the rest of Gensokyo, then we'll be not only protecting the people of the village, but the village itself, and we won't need to worry so much about reconstruction. That's what we should focus on today. If we can get that done, then we can focus on the rest of the plan, which is migrating everyone to the village."

"So, are you sure this plan is going to work?" Patchouli asked.

"Not entirely, but unless another plan is conceived, and quickly, it's our best bet." I explained.

"What about a backup plan? Do you have one?"

"No, this plan itself is rather rushed, and was made on short notice. I'm just trying to pull it all together as we go. If this falls through, then we'll have to scramble to get everything in order before catastrophe hits."

"I'm ready to go now, if we need to." Reimu alerted me.

"Yes, if we go now, that would be best. Patchouli, would you like to join us?"

"Okay. I hope this plan works." she replied in an unsure tone.

"So do I, Patchouli. Let's go." I urged the two as I headed towards the door.

The three of us then took flight towards the village. It was unnerving, seeing the size of Youkai Mountain. It loomed over everything else. I felt sick to my stomach when I tried to think of how large of an eruption could occur. Regardless of the daunting challenge before us, I knew that Patchouli, Reimu and I were going to do whatever it took to minimize the damage. Unfortunately, I knew that was all we could do. Having been told that there were entire societies on and around the mountain, I knew that there could be catastrophic damage, even if from a relatively small eruption. I pulled myself back together, and took deep breaths, trying to regain my confidence. Just after I had calmed myself down, we landed.

"I should mention, the person we probably want to talk with is Keine Kamishirasawa." Reimu explained.

"I don't know who that is." I replied, clueless as to whom she was referring.

"She takes it upon herself to protect the village, which she does. She's the first person we should talk to about this. Even if she agrees to this plan, most of the village will need to as well."

"Understood. You may want to lead the way, Reimu."

"I will, follow me."

Patchouli and I followed Reimu as she started to wander about the village. It seemed like she didn't know where she was going, but she quickly proved otherwise.

"Ms. Kamishirasawa, I need to speak with you." Reimu suddenly spoke.

I had been looking away, so I didn't see who she had alerted. Someone from nearby turned and replied, "Hm? Oh, Ms. Hakurei. Is there some issue?"

"Yes, actually. From what Jacob here said, Youkai Mountain is becoming active."

"Well," she responded in a somewhat worried tone, "that's not good."

Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound. I wasn't entirely sure if I was imagining it, seeing as it was the one sound I did not want to here. The ground shook, although it was barely noticeable. Regardless, I knew what was about to happen.

"Did anyone hear that?" I inquired with unease showing in my voice.

"I heard it. What was that?" Reimu responded.

I wordlessly flew straight into the air, and readied myself.

"The volcano is activating again! Get ready! Gather the villagers and protect them!" I shouted down to Reimu and Patchouli.

I quickly returned my gaze to the mountain. I couldn't even tell whether I was given a response to my previous order or not, as I was simply too focused. I watched for any sign of a minor eruption, waiting for a sudden bombardment, but hoping to myself that nothing would happen. I knew though that I would sleep easier if the eruption occurred then and there, because if it didn't, I wouldn't have been able to predict when it would. After a while, I calmed down, as nothing had happened. I was finally paying attention to external happenings.

"Are you sure something is happening?" Patchouli yelled up to me.

Instead of a response from me, Patchouli heard the rumbling sound again, only louder. I looked at the trees below. Even they were beginning to shake. It didn't take long for the situation to escalate. People began to panic; Reimu and Patchouli had a difficult time trying to maintain order. Even Keine was needed to try to control the people. Then it happened, an eruption seemingly twice the magnitude of the one that damaged the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I quickly generated a shield around the village. It already was difficult to hold up due to its size. As soon as volcanic projectiles began to hammer it, I began to lose strength.

"No! I won't fail like this! No one shall die!" I shouted frantically.

I gathered every bit of strength I could, and began to fire explosive projectiles at the larger boulders flying towards the village. Even with that, too much rubble was hitting the shield. Every impact against the shield weakened me, and brought the shield closer to collapse. I was too weak to even fire projectiles to break apart the incoming rocks. Suddenly, the incoming boulders began to break apart, under fire from someone obviously other than myself. I looked around, and saw Yukari below me. She was opening portals, allowing people through. She must have let Kaguya into the village, because she was the one firing back at the volcanic barrage. I slowly began to recover my strength, being pitted against mere pebbles as opposed to boulders nearly the size of a small house. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to stop all of the rocks from hitting the shield. The eruption was nearing its end, and one more large boulder had been left intact. The shield was unable to even dampen its momentum, and it plowed through with ease. I quickly braced myself one last time, and focused as much energy as I could into a beam attack. I then blasted the boulder into shrapnel, draining the last of the energy I possessed. With the additional pelting of small rocks from the shattered stone chunk, I ended up growing limp, and falling to the ground in the middle of the village. I wouldn't doubt that the Hourai Elixir was the only thing that kept me alive. Seeing as I was left paralyzed from the impact. I was only able to remain conscious for a few more seconds, then I passed out again.

* * *

><p>My situation was not much better once I woke up. Sure, I wasn't in pain, but I still had just the same problems to deal with. My spine had regenerated to the extent where I could move, but I was still rather stiff. I didn't much care, so long as I was able to fulfill my mission. It also was worth mentioning that I woke up in the exact same position that I lost consciousness in. I was surrounded by villagers, but from a distance. I quickly got up and got ready to leave to continue my objective to gather the people.<p>

"Jacob! You're awake!" Kaguya observed from nearby.

"Yes, where is everyone?" I asked, not knowing where they had gone."

"They all left to get everyone to agree to the plan!" she answered as she approached.

"With any success?"

"I don't know yet, it might have worked."

"Well that's something I've got my hopes set for. Is everything alright though? Why's everyone watching me?"

"You saved the village. Don't you remember?"

"Well, yeah, I was just a bit confused."

"I suppose you have an excuse, seeing as you did fall from a pretty impressive height."

"And broke my spine. Don't forget that part."

"That too, yes."

"So, what should we do, just wait here?"

"I suppose so. We don't know what places have been visited, and which places haven't."

"True, that's why I made copies of the map, but I don't know if they're even being used at this point. Well, I'm going to have to write a list once I get to a table, and everyone returns. I wonder how everything is going, and I hope my image wasn't at all diminished by that crash there."

"I would doubt it. You just protected the village, and I doubt that they care that you overexerted yourself."

"I wouldn't have guessed. Anyway should we go home now or something? I can't think very well right now. I need to go to take a nap."

"But you just woke up."

"From being knocked unconscious, that doesn't really count."

Kaguya then embraced me.

"I'm glad that you're okay."

"Thanks, but I don't think you need to worry about that too much any more. I just spring back from pretty much anything."

"Luckily you do, or I would have lost you a long time ago."

"Yeah, I need to stop getting myself killed so often. It gets really troublesome."

Then, Kaguya and I returned to Eientei, with the hopes that by morning our problem would be solved. I couldn't help but constantly feel that there was a chance that something would go badly. In the end though, I had to wait until my friends returned. Only then would I know how much more needed to be done.


End file.
